Stay on Task
by only-mj
Summary: While on their way to face certain doom in the belly of a beast, Keith and Hunk have some time to talk. Between Keith discovering his alien heritage and Hunk realizing that some assumptions he had made about his teammates are not true, the two learn a few things about each other. Set during "The Belly of the Weblum". Season 2 Spoilers. Minor canon divergence.


"Yeah but I always get the worst jobs!" Hunk whined, snapping back at Keith unintentionally as they flew towards what was probably impending doom. What even was a Weblum anyway? It certainly did not sound like a good time for the Yellow Paladin. "Go to a Galra-occupied planet to get my lion. Go to a Galra-occupied Balmera to get a crystal." He recounted all of his more terrifying experiences as a Paladin of Voltron. "Go into a belly of a beast with the only Galra alien team member." His eyes shifted at that last part, glancing over to the mentioned team member who sat on a ledge behind him with a deep scowl on his face.

"I'm not an alien." Keith argued back, arms folded over his chest defensively as his eyes narrowed. He wondered why he had let Shiro talk him into telling the rest of the team in the first place.

Hunk chuckled a little at the defiant statement. He knew Keith well enough by now that his grumpy mood could be expected. "W-Well… You're kind of an alien. " Hunk stated calmly, turning his head over his shoulder to flash Keith a comforting smile. "You're way more alien than me. You're at least some alien. I-I'm none alien." He stuttered. It was definitely not the best offer of solace, but he hoped that Keith would at least accept it a little.

Keith sighed, rising to his feet to approach the front of the Yellow Lion. To Hunk's disappointment, it seemed that his teammate did not appreciate the sentiment. "Let's just concentrate on the job here." He muttered, trying to shift the conversation off of himself.

"Y-yeah…" Hunk stuttered. For a moment he felt guilty for poking fun at Keith. He had picked up pretty quickly during their adventures as Paladins that Keith had a difficult time connecting with the others. If the Red Paladin had felt like he did not belong before, Hunk could not begin to imagine how isolated he was feeling after learning of his alien heritage. "Was-Was your mom the alien? Your grandpa? How Galra are you?" Hunk asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't know." He admitted harshly, growing tired of the conversation very quickly. He wished for nothing more than for them to stay on task. All he wanted was to get in the Weblum and get out so that he could go back to his room on the castle and be alone. He had a feeling, though, that Hunk was not going to take a hint that the last thing he wanted to do was talk about anything Galra related.

At Keith's quick answer of ignorance, Hunk blinked. "Okay... but like, you would know if your parents were Galra, right?" When Keith gave him a peculiar look, he continued. "Like... if your parents were purple... you'd notice that."

He really did not want to talk about his family and how little he apparently knew about it, especially with the Yellow Paladin before him. Still, when Hunk looked up at him with a genuine concern in his dark eyes, Keith swallowed. "I… was adopted." He said quietly before looking away from his teammate, bracing himself for the pity that usually followed that statement.

Hunk's eyes widened for a moment before quickly turning back to the space before him. "Oh Quiznak. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He said quickly. "I didn't know." He sighed, beating himself up over his lack of tact. He was usually better at talking to people. ' _Way to go, Hunk…'_

"It's okay." Keith responded immediately, waving his hands in front of him as he easily picked up at how uncomfortable he had made Hunk. He knew he could stand to be a little nicer to his teammate. At least _someone_ wanted to talk about it… "It's not like it's a big secret or anything."

Hunk wondered for a moment if that was an invitation to continue. While he was usually pretty good at reading body language, Keith was still a mystery to Hunk. He pondered if it had anything to do with the alien in him. "Did... did your adoptive parents ever tell you about your birth parents?" He dared to ask after a moment of hesitation.

Keith shook his head. "I never asked." He admitted. "Now I'm starting to think I should have. They helped my sister find her birth mother when she was my age. I know they would have done the same for me." He sighed, a deep frown set on his face. "I have... vague memories of this man that... that I think is my dad." He explained, vividly remembering the man he saw in his visions during the Blade of Marmora trials. "But I'm not sure." There was a pause and as Hunk opened his mouth to ask a question, Keith cut him off, as though reading his mind. "The guy in my memories is human. At least... he looks like me. Not like that means anything, though…"

"Did the Blade of Marmora, like, teach you the secret handshake or something?" Hunk asked, trying to lighten the mood of their conversation as Keith opened up to him. He flashed Keith a smile, but was not surprised, nor upset when it was not returned.

Keith let out a sigh, shaking his head. "No. No one said anything."

Hunk thought for a moment nodding to himself as he carefully flew his lion towards their mission while Keith stood quietly behind him. He knew his teammate was a man of few words, but he also desperately wanted to talk to him about the trials and about being Galra somehow. He wanted Keith to feel like he could always talk to him. "So... Is Shiro being cool at least?" He asked carefully, afraid of being shut out again.

Keith raised an eyebrow at the personal question that seemed to come from no where. "I mean... Yeah. I guess. He said that it didn't change anything." Keith had to admit that he had appreciated Shiro's support more than anything. He wondered briefly why Hunk was concerned, though. While he was not sure how comfortable he was with sharing details of what had been a very private conversation, he did not want Hunk to think he did not appreciate the support from their leader. "Said it didn't change anything between us… That… That he still loved me and stuff." He said, shifting awkwardly on his feet.

"Oh… Right…" Hunk muttered, focusing more on the vast emptiness ahead. He ignored the pit of dread and envy building up in his stomach. "That… Must be nice." He managed out softly. "I'm really happy that you have someone like him." Keith was his friend and teammate. He should definitely be happy for Keith, he told himself.

Keith smiled fondly, also looking out at the stars before them. "Thanks. He's always been really great."

Hunk felt his face burning up at how nonchalantly Keith spoke of the Black Paladin. He told himself he should just leave well enough alone. Against his better judgement, though, he continued to ask about Shiro. "So… How long have you two been together?"

"What?" Keith asked, voice cracking in surprise and his head snapped back to the pilot. "Ah… Shiro and I… We-We're not… We're not together!" He said quickly, his cheeks heating up at the implications.

Hunk turned around to face Keith. At least Keith's face was also red, Hunk noticed. "Y-You're not?" He asked in surprise. "Then what was that thing you just said about him loving you!"

"He's engaged to my sister!" The Red Paladin explained with haste. "They were supposed to get married when he returned from Kerberos. His parents are really good friends with my step-parents. I've known him since I was adopted. He's-he's family!" Keith stuttered out, his face red enough to match his armor as he blathered out more information than what Hunk had asked for.

It took a few moments for this new information to sink in. Hunk nodded a few times, registering what his meant. He let out a breath he did not know he had been holding as he adjusted his palms against the gear shifts of the Yellow Lion. Hunk could feel sweat pooling up in his gloves as he tried to swallow. ' _Keith and Shiro aren't together… Keith and Shiro aren't… '_ As much as he told himself that this did not change things, this definitely changed some things. "So… You're… I mean… Are you-were you seeing someone back home?" He dared to ask. "If not Shiro…" He added, just to confirm what Keith had just told him.

"What? No." Keith scoffed, turning away from the cockpit slightly. He wondered from where all of these strange questions were coming. "I'm not exactly good with people." He muttered, his heart beating fast in his chest as he spoke of such personal matters with someone that he was so close to. "You're smart. I'm sure you've figured that out."

Hunk had to turn further around in his seat to see Keith from where he had shifted backwards. "You-you think I'm smart?" He asked, a teasing tone in his voice as he flashed his teammate a grin.

Keith turned further away from the man as he caught sight of the dumb smile on his face. "Of course you are. You're, like, the smartest guy I know… And, not just with machines or building stuff either, but you're really smart with people, too. Which is… I dunno… It's something else." He said softly, flashing him a smile before quickly looking away once more.

Hunk had not thought it were possible for his blush to deepen until Keith had given him a smile. "I-I… Jeez, Keith. I don't know what to say." Hunk admitted, at a loss for words as he did not expect such a compliment to come from his introverted teammate.

Keith's face quickly turned into a frown. Even he could tell that he had flustered his teammate. He cursed at himself for saying such weird things. Shoving forward back into the cockpit, he quickly turned his attention back to the reason why they were together in the first place. He reminded himself that it was because they had been assigned a mission, not because anyone actually enjoyed his company. "Let's just watch the video Coran uploaded and stay on task…" He uttered sharply, leaning forward over Hunk to mess with the video player on the control panel. "We need to find out how to collect this stuff…" He mumbled. Embarrassment filled his stomach as he tried to divert the attention off of their previous conversation as quickly as possible.

"Keith! Wait!" Hunk near shouted quickly, grabbing a hold of the Red Paladin's thin wrist. He was not ready to face their task at hand, and he was definitely not ready to let the current conversation end with Keith upset with him."You don't… I'm sorry… That was weird of me." He apologized. "I-I think you're really amazing, too."

Keith scoffed, pulling his arm away. "You don't have to compliment me just because I complimented you. Even I know that's not how that works…" He frowned, trying to turn the video player on again.

He let out an audible groan as Hunk stopped him once more. "I wasn't just saying it to say it." Hunk explained, putting a lot of faith in his lion as he grabbed a hold of Keith's hand. "I meant it. I…" He swallowed. Was he really going to do this? Now? He supposed if they were about to meet their doom there was no better time. "I like you, Keith. Like, a lot." He admitted, not trusting himself to look up from where he stared at their hands as he awkwardly held his teammate in place. "I… I have for a while and I never said anything before because I thought that you and Shiro were something, and that's-that's my bad, and you're probably not even into guys, and even if you are you probably don't even like me but… We're about to go into the belly of a giant space monster so that we can fight the biggest baddest evil in the universe and…" His voice cracked as he could feel his eyes begin to water with the familiar sting of inevitable tears. "And at least one of us is probably more than likely going to die and… If we're going to die I just want you to know how I feel while I can still tell you…"

Keith was not sure how much time had passed, but for what felt like an eternity he found himself unable to move. His chest felt tight as his mind replayed the words just spoken to him, a kind confession that had been made just for him. He stood frozen in disbelief while he squeezed tightly onto Hunk's hand. Everything within him told him that his was not real. So much had happened in the last quintant and not one part of it felt real.

He heard a soft sniffle beside him that snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the tear-streaked face of the man that over the course of the last few months had become his teammate and one of his closest friends. This moment in time was real. Hunk was real before him. Hunk was real and he had just admitted his feelings towards Keith. "H-Hunk…"

Hunk's hand tugged away from his and Keith quickly found himself grounded back in the moment. "You… Ah… You can go ahead and put the video on…" Hunk said softly wiping his eyes before taking a hold of the controls once more. "S-Sorry. We should… We should get to work…"

Without thinking about anything, Keith leaned forward. Grabbing a hold of Hunk's chin, he turned the pilot's face back towards him and urgently pulled Hunk's face towards his own.

What might have been a memorable moment was abruptly halted when the visors of their helmets covering their faces smacked together, causing them to break apart abruptly. A loud sound filling the small cockpit as it took a few ticks for them both to realize what had happened.

Keith quickly pulled away, releasing Hunk and turning his attention back to the screen before them. He cleared his throat loudly, trying his best to hide his embarrassment. "So… about Coran's video…"

"Did… Did you just try to kiss me?" Hunk asked, a wide smile filling his blushing face. Unfortunately, he could not stop himself as he began to laugh at the awkward moment between the two of them.

Keith felt his face heat up once more. "N-No…" He lied, trying to figure out how the Altean video player worked even though he found it almost impossible to concentrate on anything with his teammate's infectious laughter filling the room.

"Quiznak, you are so cute…" Hunk chuckled, holding his hand out towards Keith, hoping to take the other's hand once more. "Come on. We'll try again." He encouraged.

Keith let out a frustrated sigh, growing flustered with the kindness of the man beside him. He was not exactly experienced with confessions, or first kisses, or relationships; but he was pretty sure this was not how they were supposed to go. "I can't kiss you if you keep laughing." Keith warned, not able to stop himself from smiling back at Hunk.

Trying to swallow his last bout of laughter, Hunk nodded. "Alright. Alright." Hunk smiled, turning his attention to Keith.

The Red Paladin leaned forward once more, slower and more carefully this time. He swallowed before sliding his eyes shut and carefully pressing his lips against Hunk's. He could feel the other man's soft lips curl into a smile against his own. For an instant Keith feared that he was going to start laughing again, but felt relieved when instead Hunk pushed back harder with his own lips.

After a moment that neither of them ever wanted to end, Keith carefully pulled back just as slowly as he had pressed forward. When the two opened their eyes they were left speechless at the blush and smile on the opposite's face. It was Keith's turn to chuckle as he gazed upon how happy the other man was at such a small kiss. "Y-You know…" He said softly as Hunk gave him a quizzical look. "I… I never said anything… Because I thought you and Lance were together."

"Me and Lance?" Hunk laughed, shaking his head quickly before resting a comforting hand on Keith's shoulder. "I promise you don't have anything to worry about with Lance." He said calmly. "Trust me. We've been down that road before and… We don't work." He added after a brief hesitation.

Keith frowned, pulling back slightly. "Lance is… your ex?"

Hunk nodded, not finding a point in keeping that a secret from Keith, especially with Lance being part of their team anyway. "Y-yeah. We tried dating a few years back. We were both… Questioning some stuff. Anyway. It didn't work out." He explained quickly, trying his best to make the points that needed to be made at the present time. He tried to read the expression on Keith's face, hoping that his would not make the feud between the Red and Blue Paladins worse. "I promise it doesn't effect Voltron at all. It was a mutual break up. We've talked about it a lot since being paired up at he Garrison and ending up here together and I promise everything is worked out and over with."

Keith had to admit that he liked the idea of Hunk and Lance being on good terms after breaking up even less than the idea of them being currently together. "I'm… Glad that you two are doing well, then." He muttered, confused as to how to sort out his feelings. Hunk had confessed to him and had kissed him, but he had also talked a lot about his relationship with Lance? He hated how uncomfortable that implication made him. He wished that he was better at navigating social situations so he would know how to process the emotions that were making his head spin.

As if he could read Keith's struggle on his face, Hunk continued. "I promise you don't have anything to worry about. Lance and I don't work. I'll tell you the unabridged version later, but long story short, we broke up because I wanted something a lot more serious and… after messing around a little bit he realized he was straight." Hunk casually shrugged, trying to ease Keith's worries. "We're just friends now and that's all."

"Do you… Want to be more than friends?" Keith dared to ask, lowering his eyes. He had to know where Hunk stood with their teammate, even though he was afraid of the answer.

Hunk smiled widely, choosing to ignore the part in his head that knew exactly what Keith had meant. "I mean, if you're offering, I think I'd like to be more than friends with you very much."

Keith's eyes widened and he blushed deeply as he realized he had just set himself up for that comment. "That-that's not… What I meant… I mean… I—" He was cut off by the soft lips covering his own once more. His shocked eyes quickly closing as he felt himself quickly learning to enjoy the feeling of being kissed. Their lips pulled away briefly only to come back together in another quick kiss.

Hunk wished he could continue kissing what he could only assume was now his boyfriend. Unfortunately, he felt the familiar tug of the Yellow Lion's presence in his head and he quickly had to pull way. He cleared his throat with an awkward cough, patting Keith's shoulder. "So… Coran made us a video… about our very important Voltron mission."

Keith's snapped back up to a full standing position almost immediately, having almost forgotten about their mission entirely. "We should definitely watch that and-and stay on task…" He responded with a deep blush and a guilty smile on his face.

Hunk smiled, puling back to focus on the way to their destination. "Alright! Gotta prepare for my first mission with my Galra alien boyfriend!" He said with a wink before leaning forward, pressing the play button on the video player and waiting further instructions. After pressing the button, Hunk held out his hand to Keith, offering it to him.

He wanted to snap at him about being called an alien once more, but he was pretty sure that his boyfriend had been teasing him. Without any hesitation, Keith took the hand offered to him and gave it a comforting squeeze. His eyes caught Hunk's briefly and Keith found himself blushing as he turned back to the screen just in time to hear a familiar voice greet them.

" _Hello brave Altean!"_

The two stared at the screen with wide eyes. "No way. Is that Coran?" Hunk laughed, pointing to the man on the screen awkwardly with their joined hands.

Keith did not respond, allowing Hunk to move their hands however he wished while he tried to focus on both hand-holding and the instructional video. Who knew hand holding required concentration?

" _So, you're about to go into the belly of a Weblum to harvest scaultrite. Good for you!"_

He knew somewhere within him that he was taking the younger pre-recorded Coran's words out of context, but Hunk had to agree. He had to admit that being assigned a mission to go into the belly of a beast had been good for them. He would definitely have to take back his statement about always getting the worst jobs, he thought with a small smile.


End file.
